Simone Biles Covers TIME Magazine

The gymnast graced the cover of TIME magazine, and they summarized her whirlwind journey to the top.

The start of the 2016 Rio Olympics is just a week away and one of the most anticipated events is the gymnastics competition, where all eyes will be on powerhouse gymnast Simone Biles. Her talent and skill level is almost otherworldly and certainly earned her the coveted spot on the Olympic gymnastics team. Now she’s graced the cover of TIME magazine, and they summarized her whirlwind journey to the top.

With all of the countless accolades she has received over the past few years, it’s hard to believe the 19-year-old isn’t already an Olympic champion, but in the 2016 Rio games she is practically guaranteed to give a historic performance and pick up some medals in the process.

The three-time world all-around champion (2013–15), four-time United States national all-around champion (2013–16), three-time world floor champion (2013–15), two-time world balance beam champion (2014–2015) has landed the cover of TIME magazine in an exclusive profile into her amazing world.

Here are some excerpts:

Biles pulls off moves too challenging for even her elite rivals, soaring with a preternatural comfort in the air. She’s “in a caliber with nobody else in the world, really,” says Nastia Liukin, the 2008 Olympic all-around gold medalist, who will cover the Games for NBC. “Nobody is even close to her.”

That’s a key reason expectations are sky-high for the U.S. team in Rio. The squad, which is favored to defend the team gold it won in London, includes the reigning all-around Olympic champion, Gabrielle Douglas, 20; her 2012 teammate Aly Raisman, 22, a three-time medalist; and Laurie Hernandez, 16, and Madison Kocian, 19, who will make their Olympic debuts along with Biles.

The weight of this burden is not lost on the world’s best gymnast. “I feel like it’s harder because everyone knows I’m the three-time world champion — it’s almost like people are waiting for something bad to happen,” she says during a training session at her gym in Spring, Texas. “That kind of stresses me out a bit.”

There is no doubt that all eyes will be on Biles as she makes her Olympic debut. However, if she continues to do what she has done at previous competitions, she will be a dynamic sports figure we won’t soon forget.